George crouch



G CROUCH TRAVELING TRUNK.

Patnted Dec. 28, 1897.

no..wnsmuumu u r (No Model.)-

, UNITED STATES GEORGE OROUOI-I, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TRAVELING-TRUNK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,055, dated December 28, 1897.

Application filedApril 6, 1897- Serial No. 630,952. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE CROUCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city, county, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Traveling-Trunks, of which the. following is a specification.

Traveling-trunks are usually provided with slats upon the top and often on the sides and with cleats on the bottom, the object being to stiffen and strengthen the trunk, and these cleats and slats have been secured by nails passed through them and through the body of the trunk and usually clenched at the inner ends.

In the rough handling to which trunks are subjected the slats are very frequently exposed to concussion,which moves the slat laterally and causes it to split or the securingnails to loosen, and not only is the slat itself injured, but the strength of the trunk is lessened by the slat becoming loose or injured.

The object of the present invention is to secure the slat against lateral displacement; and with this object in view ribs are permanently fastened to the surface of the trunk and the slat is received between these ribs, so that the ribs support the slat against lateral displacement, and these ribs at the same time act as shields to the slat, warding off blows or injury to a greater or less extent and the appearance of the trunk is verymuch impr0ved. These ribs are in some instances made of wood glued upon the body of the trunk and then covered with the leather, canvas, or other covering fabric glued or pasted directly upon the surface of the trunk, and in other instances the ribs are made of sheet metal fastened to the surface of the trunk and covered or not covered with the leather or canvas or other suitable material; but in all instances the slat is received between these ribs and is permanently secured to the trunk, and the ribs support the slat laterally and prevent the same being injured or becoming loose byconcussion of the slat against other trunks or against the car.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section showing the present invention as applied with a slat for the top of a trunk. Fig. 2 is a similar view representing the ribs as made of sheet metal; and Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views, partly broken open, of the devices shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a trunk with my improved slats.

The top, front, back, or bottom of the trunk are usually of wood, and a portion of the same is represented at A, and the slat is shown at B, and this slat may be of wood or of metal, as desired. I have, however, represented such slat as of wood, and upon the surface of the trunk ribs 3 3 are attached. In Fig. 1 these ribs are represented as triangular strips of wood glued upon the surface of the trunk, and I find it advisable to use canvas or leather or similar material, as illustrated at 4, for the exterior surface of the trunk, and this is passed over the ribs and glued or otherwise v cemented to the ribs and to the surface of the trunk. Hence when the attached material dries or hardens the ribs 3 are held in place in the most reliable manner and are not liable to injury when the trunk is being handled in the manner usual in traveling.

The slat B is of a width to fit closely in between the ribs 3 3, and the slat is advantageously made of strong, durable woodsuch as, for instance, oak or hickoryand the width is such that the edges of the slat will come in contact with or set closely against the ribs 3 3, so as to support the slat in the most reliable rnanner against lateral strain due to concussion against the slat.

I sometimes find it advantageous to employ a wire in forming the ribs, as seen at 13, the same being inclosed in the edge of a strip of thin sheet metal, as shown at 6, and this strip may be nailed to the surface of the-trunk at suitable intervals and may either be inclosed by the covering fabric, as shown in Fig. 2, or it may be left open. In either instance the slat is received between the ribs and firmly supported by them.

It is usually advantageous to pass nails at 5 through the slat B, so as to secure the same firmly in position, and these are advantageously placed at intervals along the slat and contiguous to the respective edges. Where the slat B is of a wood that is liable to splinter upon the edges, I make use of sheet-metal bands 7, of a width to wrap around the edges of the slat, and by driving the attaching-nails 5 through the metal strip such metal strip is held firmly in place, and the slat is strengthened by such sheet metal and the risk of injury from splinters reduced to a minimum.

I sometimes make the slat of vulcanite or similar artificial material in place of using either wood or metal. Slats of this material, however, are well known in the trade. I find it advantageous in constructing the top and bottom of a trunk to have the grain of the wood run from the front to the back of the trunk and to have the slats and the strengthening-ribs run lengthwise of the trunk, so as to cross the fibers of the wood at right angles, or nearly so.

In some instances the rib can be advantageously made of a heavy cord or a wire inclosed in a folded strip of muslin or canvas and glued to the surface'of the trunk. In this instance there is no risk of the rib being split or broken off, and there is a slight yield that lessens the risk of injury when anything strikes against the slat.

In cases where the slat or protecting-strip has been bound upon its edge with metal, as represented in my Patent No. 571, 152, granted November 10, 1896, the metal intervening between the strip or slat and the trunk has to be perforated by the nail or rivet, and as a punch cannot easily be used to pass through, this part of the metal the point of the nail is sometimes deflected or injured. I find that by turning the edge of the strip of metal under the slat only a sufficient distance to be bound or clamped in the act of nailing the slat to the trunk the binding-strip of metal is equally efficient and the diiiiculty arising from the penetration of the strip of metal by the nail is avoided, because the edge of the strip of metal stops short of the nail, as shown in the drawings. Hence it is unnecessary to bore holes and the metal at the outer side of the slat can be penetrated by a punch previous to inserting the nails.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the trunk an d with the slat for the same, of independent ribs at opposite edges of the slat and forming a permanent portion of the wall of the trunkfor supporting such slat, substantially as set forth. v

2. The combination with the trunk-body having independent ribs and canvas or other material covering and fastened to the ribs and to the surface of the trunk at the sides of the ribs, and slats of a width to set closely between the ribs, and means for fastening the slat permanently to the trunk so that the same is supported laterally by the ribs, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the trunk and the slat, of inclosing strips of sheet metal around the edges of the slat and nails passing through the inclosin g sheet metal and through the slat and through the wood body of the trunk,without passing through the metal that is between the slat and the trunk, substantially as set forth.

at. The combination with the wooden trunkbody and the wooden slat, of ribs formed of sheet metal with heads at the edges and permanently fastened to the trunk and receiving between the beads the edges of the slats, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the wooden tru nkbody, of independent ribs permanently fastened to the surface of the trunk at distances apart corresponding to the width of the slats, slats of wood or similar material, and strips of sheet metal upon the edges of the slats forming a binding for the same, and nails passing through the strips of sheet metal and through the slats into the wooden trunk-bod y, substan tially as set forth.

6. The combination with the trunk and slat, of a round rib inclosed in a strip and fastened to the surface of the trunk at the side of the slat, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 1st day of April, 1897.

GEO. CROUCH.

\Vitnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, S. T. HAVILAND. 

